Fastener machine



April 28, 1970 A P. B. MONTAGUE 3,508,697

FASTENER MACHINE April 23, 1970 P. B. MONTAGUE 3,508,697

FASTENER MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 8. 1967 United States Patent O 3,508,697 FASTENER MACHINE Paul B. Montague, Melrose, Mass., assignor to Standard Rivet Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of New Hampshire Filed Nov. 8, 1967, Ser. No. 681,319 Int. Cl. B25c 5/02 U.S. Cl. 227 116 11 'Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE An industrial stapler feeds loose, unconnected staples downwardly astride a guide rail to the throat of a staple guide assembly through which the staples are driven by a sliding hammer upwardly to an anvil. When released by a gating device individually from the guide rail to the throat the staples are inverted and drop, legs pointing up, on the hammer.

In the conventional, familiar desk-top stapler, staples are sliced by a hammer from a clip of joined staples and driven through a throat against an indented anvil which turns and clinches the legs of the staple. The articles may be secured together by placing one on the anvil, positioning the second on top of the first and driving a staple down through the second and first articles, clinching the staple legs underneath the first article. If this practice were followed in stapling a buckle to a shoe, for example, the shoe leather would be laid on the anvil, the buckle positioned on the leather and the staple driven through the buckle and leather and the staple legs clinched inside the shoe where the rough and pointed ends of the legs might damage the skin or stockings of the wearer. It is impractical to invert the workpieces, placing the buckle onto the anvil rst, then laying the leather on top of the buckle, because the leather will cover the buckle and prevent correct positioning of the buckle relative to the leather. This problem can be overcome by inverting the stapler and driving inverted staples upwardly from inside the leather, then clinching the staple around the buckle outside the leather where the staple ends will not injure skin or stockings.

In large volume industrial stapling machines one problem remains, however. Loose staples cannot be fed inverted. While an individual staple can be supported by its cross head with its legs hanging down, no practical way of feeding inverted loose staples, legs up, has been achieved. Some industrial stapling machines use prepared clips of interconnected staples as in the familiar desk-top stapler. But in industrial Staplers using hundreds of staples an hour, the need to frequently replace clips or clear jammed staples which have broken off from the clip is a serious handicap. And it is highly desirable to use separate, loose staples which can be dumped by thousands in a hopper, if the problem of feeding loose, inverted staples can be overcome.

It is thus the object of the invention to provide apparatus for feeding staples to an anvil inverted so that they can be driven upwardly through a workpiece.

According to the invention apparatus for attaching to a workpiece a fastener having a head and at least one parallel leg comprises a downwardly extending throat for receiving the fastener, rail means inclinedv downwardly toward the throat for holding a series of separate fasteners with their heads supported on the rail means and their legs hanging therefrom and for guiding the fasteners to the throat, gate means adjacent the rail for releasing the fasteners one by one on a path into the throat, means on said path for engaging the legs only of released fasteners so as to invert the fasteners and ri'ce deliver them legs-up into the throat, an anvil above the throat, and a hammer movable through the throat for driving an individual fastener upwardly out of the throat, through a workpiece and against the anvil, thereby to secure the fastener to the workpiece with the head under the workpiece.

For the purpose of illustration a typical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an industrial stapling machine;

FIGS. 2 to 4 are enlarged views of a part of the machine shown partly in section and in three positions of operation;

PIG. 5 is a section on line 5 5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a section on line 6 6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a buckle stapled to a sheet of leather; and

FIG. 8 is a section on line 8 8 of FIG. 7.

Typical workpieces are a buckle 1 and leather sheet 2 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 secured together by two staples 3. The staple, as shown in FIG. 6, has the usual parallel legs 4 connected by a head 6. The staples are driven through the leather and their legs clinched around the cross bar 7 As shown in FIG. 1 an industrial stapling machine comprises a frame plate 11 which is mounted on a base plate 10 and supports a hopper 12 for containing a large quantity of loose staples. By a commercially available mechanism staples 1 are continuously lifted from the hopper and deposited successively with their legs point-down straddling a rail 13 and their heads riding on the top of the rail. The rail is inclined downwardly at an angle of 21 from the horizontal so that the staples feed down the rail by gravity and the normal vibration of the machine. The rail extends toward a staple guide assembly 14 enclosing a throat 16 into which the staples are delivered through a lateral entrance 17 to which the rail 13 extends, as will be described in detail. Once in the throat the staples are driven by a hammer 18 sliding through the throat upwardly to the open end or outlet 19 of the throat at a flat surface 21 on the upper side of the staple guide assembly 14. As shown in FIG. 6 the hammer 18 is T-shaped in cross-section, having a longitudinal flange 18 riding in a groove 16 adjacent the throat 16.

Opposed to the throat outlet 19 is an anvil 23 whose lower end has conventional indentations 24 for turning and clinching the staple legs. The anvil 23 is carried on an arm 26 fixed to a block 27 sliding in a head 28 on the frame plate 11. The upper surface of the sliding block 27 has a cam surface 29 inclined to the generally up and down path on which the block slides in the head. The sliding block 27 is held by a spring 31 against a wedge 32 sliding horizontally in the head 28. The wedge is driven by a toggle 33 anchored to the head at 34 and driven by a connecting rod 36. The rod 36 is coupled Ito a lever 35 which is connected by a spring coupling 37 to a rocker arm 38. The rocker arm is pivoted in a bearing block 39 on the base 10, and is rocked by a main drive rod 41 which is connected to any suitable one-cycle drive mechanism M controlled by an operator switch S.

On downward movement of the main drive rod 41 the rocker arm 38 yieldingly urges the lever 35 upwardly straightening the toggle 33 and driving the wedge 32 lef-tward so as to cam the anvil 23 on the sliding block 27 downwardly into engagement with the flat 21 at the upper end of the staple guide assembly 14. At the same time the left end of the rocker arm 38 lifts a slide bar 41 guided in the staple guide assembly 14 and terminating in the hammer 18, the rocker arm 38 being connected to the slide bar through a coupling pin 42 engaged in a slot 43 of a block 44 attached to the slide bar. The hammer is then driven upwardly and, assuming there is an inverted staple 3 in its path as shown in FIG. 6, the staple is driven through any workpieces on the flat 21 and clinched by the anvil 23.

During the upward drive of the hammer slide bar 41 a shoulder 46 on the slide bar engages a pusher 47 sliding in a guide block 48 mounted on the staple guide assembly 14 (FIG. l). At the upper end of the pusher is a stop pin 49 engaging the top of the guide block 48 to limit downward movement of the pusher. Beyond the stop pin the pusher has `a bore 51 holding a spring 52 and a rod 53. The rod 53 has at its upper end a nose piece 54. When the shoulder 46 on the hammer slide bar 41 engages the pusher 47 the nose piece 54 is thrust upwardly against a gate block 57. The nose piece 54 has -two bifurcated shoulders 55 which straddle the rail (FIGS. 3 to 5) in the path of the legs 4 of the staple. The gate block is pivoted at 58 on the rail 13 and is normally urged downwardly by a spring 59 so that a tooth 61 is held against the head of the foremost of the series of staples 3 arresting the staples (FIG. 4). When the nose S4 lifts the gate block 57 and tooth 61, lthe foremost staple is partially released and slides against an inclined face 56 of the nose piece (FIG. 3). The face 56 is positioned in the rail 13 one thickness of one staple head in advance of the tooth 61, so that upon downward movement of the nose piece 54 to a position intermediate those of FIGS. 3 and 4 the staple inclines as its head slides along the rail 13 while its legs still abut the withdrawing nose piece 54. Then when the nose piece 54 moves into the position of FIG. 4 the fully released staple drops over the curved nose of the rail 13 after the tooth 61 has arrested ythe next staple.

Full release of the foremost staple occurs as the hammer returns toward the position shown in FIG. 4 from a momentary lower position (FIG. 2) in which it opens the lower end of the throat. During this movement the single staple drops through the successive positions shown in phantom in FIG. 4. First the staple rides down the curved end of the rail 13 inclining from its legs-down position on the rail toward a horizontal position 3 above the nose piece 54. As the staple passes horizontal position (3', FIG. 4) its legs only engage the curved lower lip of the throat entrance 17 causing complete inversion of the staple. The staple then slides head-down over the curved lower lip 20 and enters the throat 16. Therelafter the inverted staple slides endwise, head-down, through arv widened throat portion 16' to a position 3" with the head resting on the hammer 18 (FIGS. 4 and 6). From the position 3 the staple is driven upwardly to the anvil 23, as previously described, passing out of the widened throat portion 16' to the upper narrower throat portion in which it snugly fits. The guide rail and throat being within 6 of right angles to each other, the throat 16 is inclined away from vertical by about 15, and a staple being driven upwardly by the hammer 18 is thus inclined 15 away from the throat entrance 17, preventing any tendency for the staple to fall off the hammer as it passes the entrance.

The stapler is used by placing a workpiece, such las the leathei` sheet 2 of FIGS. 7 and 8, on the flat 21 of the staple guide assembly 14 with the buckle 1 lying in view atop the finished, outer side of the leather. The leather and buckle are adjusted relative to the overhanging anvil 23 until both are in proper position to receive a staple. The operator switch S is then actuated initiating one cycle of the stapler in which the anvil descends and clamps the workpieces in correct position, a staple is driven legs-up through the workpiece by the hammer 18 and its legs clinched by the anvil laround the cross bar 7 of the buckle. During the cycle another staple is released from the guide rail and inver-ted onto the hammer. The workpiece and partly attached buckle are then shifted slightly and a second staple is attached in a second cycle.

While I have described a machine for setting a twolegged staple, it is also possible to invert and set a onelegged fastener having a head which rides between Itwo guide rails with the leg guided between the rails. Thus while one desirable embodiment of the invention has herein been disclosed by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inclusive of any and all modifications falling within the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. For attaching to a workpiece a fastener having a head and at least one parallel leg, apparatus comprising a downwardly extending throat for receiving the fastener,

rail means inclined downwardly toward the throat for holding a series of separate fasteners with their heads supported on the rail means and their legs hanging therefrom and for guiding the fasteners to the throat,

gate means adjacent the rail for releasing the fasteners one by one on a path into the throat,

positioning means on said path for engaging the legs only of released fasteners so as to invert the fasteners and deliver them legs-up into the throat,

an anvil above the throat, and

a hammer movable through the throat for driving an individual fastener upwardly out of the throat, through a workpiece and against the anvil,

thereby to secure the fastener to the workpiece with the head under the workpiece.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the throat has a lateral entrance opposite the lower end of the rail, the rail end extending to said entrance.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the end of the rail means is curved downwardly into the entrance.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the entrance has a lip below said rail end curved downwardly to the throat.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the upper part of said lip comprises the aforesaid positioning means.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said gate means comprises a member having a tooth yieldingly held in the path of the series of fasteners on the rail means, and means for lifting said toothed member including said positioning means.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said lifting means includes means extending from said positioning means into the path of the head of said fastener one thickness of a fastener head in advance of said tooth, whereby fasteners are released by the tooth singly.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said extending means is retractable from the path of the fastener head to pass the single fastener released by said tooth.

9. Appratus according to claim 1 wherein said anvil means is movable to a position adjacent the upper end of said throat, said gate means includes means movable into the path of a fastener head on said rail means, and said hammer, anvil means and gate means are connected to a common drive means.

10. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said throat is inclined away from the throat entrance.

11. Apparatus for attaching to a workpiece a staple 'having a head and parallel legs extending therefrom comprising a staple guide assembly having a throat shaped to receive a staple endwise extending therethrough and a lateral entrance for admitting a staple to the lower portion of the throat,

a hammer slidable through the throat past said entrance to the upper end of the throat for driving a staple upwardly out of the throat,

an anvil movable toward the upper end of the throat to engage the workpiece and clinch the legs of a staple driven therethrough,

a rail inclined downwardly to said throat entrance for holding a series of separate staples with their legs straddling the rail and their heads riding on top of the rail, the lower end of said rail being curved down- Wardly into the throat entrance,

gate means at the lower end of said rail including a toothed member yieldingly urged toward the top of the rail in the path of the Staple heads, upwardly movable means for lifting said toothed member to release the foremost of said series of staples, said movable means including a nose piece movable into the path of the head of the released staple and spaced from the tooth member the thickness of a staple head, whereby, upon downward retraction of said nose piece and toothed member only one staple is released over the curved end of the rail into the throat, and said throat including a lip in the path of the released staple legs for engaging the legs while permitting the head of the staple to ride over the curved rail end and invert the staple as it passes through said entrance,

whereby a staple is driven upwardly through the workpiece and the legs clinched above the workpiece.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 921,588 5/1909 Chapman 227-91 1,050,844 1/1913 oitsch 227-85 1,211,823 1/1917 craig 227-85 15 1,295,237 2/1919 Thompson 227-91 2,086,922 7/1937 Peterson 227-119 XR GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, J R., Primary Examiner 

